Congrats on the boat. You're up for some fun.
Wildlatin is right on. There is a wealth of info right here on this forum. If your question hasn't already been answered then just ask. Lots here are willing to help.
You can see an H14 parts guide at:
http://2010.archive.hobiecat.com/suppor ... _14-16.pdfThere is the excellent H14 tuning guide by Bob Curry at:
http://www.hobiecat.com/support/article ... uning.htmlI do a lot of my parts shopping on the web since I am a bit of a drive from a Hobie dealer. Here are some on-line dealers that I use and like:
Murray's (
http://www.murrays.com)
Backyard Boats (
http://www.backyardboats.com)
Salty Dog Marine (
http://www.saltydogmarine.com)
Mauri Pro Sailing (
http://www.mauriprosailing.com)
I have experienced excellent service with all of them. I particularly like Backyard Boats for new Hobie parts since they have the Hobie parts catalogs on their site. They are a local Hobie dealer in Woodbridge, Va I believe. They are very friendly and helpful. They all sell only new parts of course. For used parts, there are occasionally guys parting out boats in the classified here and also on
http://www.thebeachcats.com. And as wildlatin mentioned, you also have eBay and Craigslists as good resources. Just borrow your dad's credit card and have a go.
(With permission, of course)
It's true H16's have quite a bit better performance rating then H14's. But once you get your boat properly rigged and done some tuning you will likely find that your skills in skippering the boat play a major role. When I had my H16, I often found that my sailing skill would enable me to stay with or even beat H18's or Nacra's that were rated faster simply because I could maintain consistently better sail trim and tack better than they could. The fact that I'm light at only 150 lbs doesn't hurt either. So, it's not impossible.
Good Luck.
Dave W
Tampa, FL